Fixing Marinette
by retroGrape117
Summary: After Marinette was broken by the latest akuma attack, no one can fix her. But I will. A short (?) story of how Nathaniel protects, comforts, and loves all of Marinette's hurt away. Nathanette
1. Chapter 1

**Oof welcome to my tenth story. I have five others that I started before this, but haven't got around to updating them. See the end of the story for free ideas.**

**I don't own our dorks but I do own this fanfiction.**

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I anxiously watched the Ladyblog's coverage of the latest akuma, Bakerix. All we knew was that the Dupain-Cheng bakery had turned into a steampunk factory that kept churning out delicious pastries-delicious, but they left a sour aftertaste. And then you turned into a slave and _vyzhoom_ you disappeared in a blast of electric blue. The two main theories floating around is that they went off to make more desserts, or that they became the desserts.

Anyways, the fight seemed to be almost over, thankfully, since it would soon be nine. Ladybug and Cat Noir had closed in on the bakery and entered, thanks to Cat Noir's Cataclysm. They had found the slaves inside (thankfully not as food) and had to wade through them and finally found a pair of robot bakers. And that was when the fight started.

The shorter of the two spun around at the disturbance and almost immediately shot out one of two retractable claws: rubber on the end, but still had a death grip. Cat Noir's tail can attest to that.

Cat Noir was yanked off his feet and swung into the nearby wall. It was only his cat-like reflexes that saved him from crashing face first into the wall; as it was, he barely managed to redirect his trajectory into a nearby pile of dough.

Meanwhile, Ladybug had to deal with the taller and bulkier of the two. He had a chunk of steel as his left hand and a laser gun for his right hand. That meant Ladybug had to deal with wide punches and tiny beams at the same time, which didn't look easy, even for Ladybug. Just then, a pie hit the camera and the screen went cherry red.

I waited for the filming to resume for one minute, then five, only hearing the sounds of fighting. Finally, although it was hard to hear, a cry of "Lucky Charm!" was audible. And then a sizzle, a gasp, and the ladybugs swarmed into my room, removing the blueberry filling and the frosting.

"Nathaniel?" came my mom's voice from downstairs. "Nathaniel!" She appeared in my doorway.

"Oh, Nathaniel!" She rushed over to me and enveloped me in a tight hug. "Nathaniel, I'm so sorry!" she said into my shoulder. "I was so worried," she continued, pulling away and placing her hands on my shoulders. "Are you hurt?" she asked, her eyes scanning for any injuries.

"Mom, you know the ladybugs would've fixed it," I reassured. "I'm fine," I added. She sighed.

"I know. I'm just worried, ever since you were... you know. I don't ever want that to happen to you again," my mom said in a soft tone. Suddenly she surrounded me in another hug. "I love you, Nathaniel," she confirmed.

We just stood there in each other's arms, mother and son, and I couldn't have felt more loved.

I yawned, commenting, "It's getting late. We should get to bed." Mom agreed, and we each went our separate ways to bed.

{+-+}

AKUMA VICTIM FEARED DEAD was the headline as I ate my breakfast. I almost choked on my eggs when I saw it: didn't the ladybugs fix everything? I opened the article to read more, curious but apprehensive.

I couldn't breathe as I saw the news.

"Tom Dupain, co-owner of the local bakery with his wife, Sabine Cheng, suffered severe burns from last night's akuma attack. While the evidence is unclear, the most likely conclusion is that the burns were inflicted during his akumatization. It is not known if..."

I turned away, unable to finish the article. _Why didn't Ladybug fix it?_

I had lost my appetite, and so I decided to get ready for school. I climbed upstairs to put on a fresh set of clothes, noting my French essay that had to be finished by Friday. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and gathered all of my stuff into my backpack. I walked downstairs just in time to call a quick goodbye to my mom and then slipped into my shoes and walked out the door as well.

As I biked to school, my mind kept drifting back to last night's akuma attack. I had a pit in my stomach just thinking about what Mr. Dupain's family must be feeling right now.

_Marinette._

Oh no.

Marinette must be feeling horrible right now! I wished I could do something to make her feel better, since I knew exactly how she felt.

And then it hit me: I could.

It was around this time I arrived at school, and so I started looking around to see if Marinette had decided to come to school today. [There!] I found her sitting at the bottom of the metal staircase in the gym, surrounded by her friends. Steeling my nerves, I walked up and waited for a break in the conversation. Not a minute later, I saw my opening.

"Marinette? Uh... I'm really sorry about your dad. I know how that feels."

Marinette just looked up with a sad smile, and I saw how red and puffy her eyes were.

"And I... do you want a hug?"

Marinette bit her lip for a long moment, and then nodded. I helped her up, not sure what to do next, and so I opened my arms.

Marinette crashed into me, wrapping her arms around me like I was the only thing that would keep her on her feet. I could almost feel the pain she went through as she buried her face in my shoulder. I lowered my head so it was resting on hers and I whispered, "It'll be alright. It'll be hard, but we're here to help you through it." I hugged her back with as much care as I could muster, knowing that she needed as much as possible to help her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marinette's grip loosened and I stepped back. "Thank you," Marinette softly said. looking up at me.

"If... if you ever need another hug, just ask," I offered. Just then, the bell rang. "See you later," I smiled, walking to my locker.

{+-+}

"...and that is how we find the missing side length on a triangle. I'd like you to practice this..."

I kept glancing down at Marinette, not really paying attention to the lesson. Marinette seemed different today. Well, different from what I had expected. When it had happened to me, I was kind of empty for the first day. Marinette seemed... broken.

Let me explain: She was talking to her friends and staring at Adrien and being clumsy and doing all the things that make Marinette Marinette, but there wasn't that Marinette spark. She was admiring Adrien, but she wasn't doodling their future family. She was chatting with Alya, but her mind was elsewhere. She wasn't empty, just broken. And that's good, because I didn't know how to fix myself years ago, when Dad's absence left me empty, but I can fix broken things.

And from that point on, it became my goal: I was now fixing Marinette.

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**I legitimately have five other unpublished first chapters: 2 Miraculous AUs, a Miraculous oneshot, an ARMS fanfiction, and another oneshot. I should stop, but if anyone wants to take the AUs they're up for grabs.**

**Miraculous: Tales of Mister Charm and Minou Nuit- AU where Nathaniel and Juleka get the Miraculouses. Needs to have Nathleka and PenAndPetal (a new ship I made up with Rose and Marc) (they are my OTP change my mind)**

**Miraculous: Take 2- This one is epic and I have a storyline plotted out and I don't want to spoil it, so know that it has heavy Adrienette and the barest hint of LadyNoir, Cat Noir is the bad guy (?) and Marinette and Adrien are in a relationip. Also, Nathaniel gets the Fox miraculous.**

**:( Well, I hope I can manage TEN STORIES! Wish me luck!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter goes out to two people: first, ATDao257. You're a real hero, thanks!**

**Second, this goes out to my mom. A couple months after publishing the first chapter of this, my mom, who had been suffering through cancer, passed. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment. This story kind of helped me cope with that. HOWEVER I don't want you readers giving this a pity like or comment, just because my mom died. I absolutely ****_don't_**** want to profit off of that. If you want to leave a review complimenting the story and put a note at the end, that's fine. I just don't want this to become popular because of sympathy points.**

**Whew, personal feels out of the way. That said, enjoy the chapter!**

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-a year and a half ago-

"My husband was the best for me, and that's what made him so special," my mom started, already grabbing tissues.

"He was like an umbrella on a rainy day: he would always cheer you up and put you back on your feet. He is - was like that for all of us, I think. He knew when I was feeling upset or stressed out or angry and knew how to help me feel loved."

At this, my mom broke down in tears. Meanwhile, I just sat in my seat with that feeling you get when you fall too fast like your gut is dropping out from under you. I felt helpless and alone.

Later, at the gravesite, I finally let go. I wasn't crying, per se, but tears were running down my face. It was like there was a hole where my dad used to be, and the tears were leaking out. I wasn't sad, just empty.

I don't know what would have happened next, but I'm pretty sure I would have gotten seriously depressed, if not committed suicide. But at my lowest moment, when my dad's dead body was being lowered into the cold, backcountry soil, I felt a tear kind of fizzle on my cheek. I'll never forget it. It was high up on my right cheek, directly in the middle. When I reached up to feel it, it was gone. No trace of it being there. And I think that was my dad's way of saying, _cheer up. Would I have liked to see you crying like this? You should be smiling, remembering all the fun hikes we went on and the dressers we made and the memories we shared. Don't cry, Nathaniel. I'm still here._

Another tear trailed down my face in exactly the same spot, but this time it wasn't in sadness, it was a melancholy happiness. It was my promise to never forget.

The drive home was horrible, and that's when it hit me that my dad was dead. It took months to recover.

-present day-

The akuma was on Monday, the services were on Saturday, and somehow Marinette made it back to school on Wednesday.

As soon as Alya saw Marinette, she ran over and wrapped Marinette in a hug. I saw them walk over and couldn't help but recall my first day back at school.

Everybody was surrounding me and trying to say sorry for something they_ didn't do_ and I felt suffocated. I wished everybody would stop giving me attention and just pretend nothing was wrong.

"Marinette?" I timidly asked from behind her. She turned around, and I noticed that something was a little off. _Of course it was,_ I reprimanded myself, _her dad just died._ "When... when my dad... y'know, it helped if everyone just acted like it was normal. Would you like that?" I continued sheepishly.

She hesitated, then nodded. She sat down in her seat, on the verge of tears. I looked up at Alya, who nodded. _Good._

_Piece by piece, I'm fixing Marinette._

=\\\^/=

The school day went smoothly, and I gave Marinette a hug before she left. _Man, she is tough,_ I remarked, remembering that it took a week and a half for me to work up the courage to go back to school. I biked home after making sure that I didn't have to walk home with Marinette, feeling satisfied with my work.

The next day wasn't any easier. She walked into class relatively early, and only Rose, Juleka, and I were in the room. Although she wasn't crying, her eyes were tearstained as she slowly made her way to her desk and sat down.

I hesitated, then quietly sat down beside her, and (albeit awkwardly) put my arm around her shoulder comfortingly. She froze, and I started to pull back. Then, to my surprise, she leaned into me.

"Thanks, Nathaniel," she said softly. We sat there for a couple of minutes while the rest of class trickled in, only shifting once when Alya arrived and scooted in on the other side of Marinette. We sat there for a while, giving her silent support until the bell rang. When it did finally ring, I stood up to go to my seat, but Marinette grabbed my hand to stop me. I looked back.

She hesitated. "Thank you, Nathaniel," she whispered gratefully. I smiled, remembering how alone I felt when my dad had died, and that I just wanted someone beside me to help me get through it. I squeezed her hand reassuringly and then walked back to my seat.

"Nathaniel," Rose whispered once class had started, "what was that all about?" I didn't say anything, so she clarified, "You were sitting next to Marinette for like thirty minutes! And you weren't being awkward!"

"Rose, I'm up here," Mlle. Bustier pointed out. Rose sat up and resumed listening to the lesson, apologizing. Not a minute later, I got a text from Rose.

_So what happened?_

Glancing up at the teacher to see if I would get caught, I texted Rose from my lap.

_I was comforting her because I got to school early and noticed that she was sad_ was my response. _I just sat next to her and gave her a hug._

After a long pause, Rose replied, _That's good. I still can't believe that her dad died though. Shouldn't the ladybugs have fixed it?_

I stopped, thinking. _Maybe they can only fix living things_ I texted back.

Then I had a thought. A dangerous thought, but one that seemed plausible.

_Or maybe he was already dead_ I continued.

_No, Nathaniel. Don't go there_ was Rose's only response. She didn't text me back for the rest of the period, which I deserved.

Our first class went by well enough, but Marinette just seemed to be staring blankly ahead instead of... well, anything else she was usually doing. Admiring Adrien. Texting Alya. Doodling. I felt a pang of empathy as I recalled just sitting in my room with an empty sketchpad after my loss.

Marinette shouldn't be broken like that.

=\\\^/=

Sabine hated it.

Hated the fact that her husband up and left, hated that Hawkmoth took advantage of it, and hated that Ladybug took the blame for it.

Because it was her own fault.

Her own fault.

It was her own fault for being akumatized after finding out Marinette was Ladybug, and her own fault for _killing her own husband_ and her own fault for not even bothering to call Ladybug and now Tom was gone and there was nothing anybody could ever do about it.

And now there was another akuma coming for her, and why should she stop it -

_Bad Dream, I am Hawkmoth._

"Sabine, will you marry me?"

A twenty-something Tom Dupain was proposing to me, and I simply could not believe it.

Here he was, the love of my life, and he had just proposed to me on the bank of the Seine.

I didn't know what to say.

So, and this would become a family favorite to tell as I grew old with children, I replied daintily, "As you wish,

"Hawkmoth."

And I transformed into the Safe Place, having just agreed to Hawkmoth's commands.

Tom and I had been married for almost two decades now, and in that time I had Marinette. As my only daughter, I loved and cherished her, and wanted to keep her safe. Imagine the surprise I got when I found out she was Ladybug. In fact, you don't need to imagine; I can tell you. I was so shocked and hurt that she didn't trust me that I went and got myself akumatized, vowing to keep her and all of my loved ones safe.

I leapt down the stairs, two at a time, and upon seeing Tom, suggested to him, "Why don't you go to the Safe Place?"

I tapped his nose, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap. Satisfied, I walked away to the front door.

_Sabine, stop!_

Sabine? I am the Safe Place.

_Sabine, no! You have to stop! You are doing the wrong thing!_

No; Tom is... in the safe place.

_Tom is not safe, Sabine! Who knows what happened to him!_

He... is in the... safe place?

_Sabine! Go check on Tom!_

He is... not safe. Tom's not safe! Get yourself together!

After breaking myself free of Hawkmoth's influence, I ran to Tom. He was on the ground, still and lifeless.

"Tom! Wake up!"

He didn't move. _Maybe I can take him out of the safe place?_

I moved to touch his nose again, only to be greeted by a bare hand.

The akuma was gone, and Tom was dead to the world.

Shakily, I felt his pulse.

Tom was dead.

Sabine's eyes snapped open, now completely black. They were the only things that were, though. Aside from her eyes, Sabine looked like an angel. She stood up from the counter she was at, floating off of the ground a little bit. Calmly, almost peacefully, she floated out of her shop.

The screams started as soon as she blasted the first building, exploding it and leaving behind the people, floating in air, thrashing and flailing around through their respective bad dreams.

=\\\^/=

"Marinette! It's your mom, she's been akumatized!"

When Alya said those words to me, they were the last words ever spoken to Ladybug.

I was tired of all of the stupid, horrible things happening to me. First my papa dies because I roasted him alive, then I have to go listen to people talk about how great he was for hours while I try not to cry, and now Maman gets akumatized too!

That was when I decided I'd had enough.

Despite wanting to cry and scream and curl up into a ball and just not exist, I smile. It wasn't a genuine smile, just my lips curling to keep in all of my emotions. "Good to know, Alya," I forced out, deliberately plucking my earrings out of my ears. Confusion, shock, and finally realization flashed across her face as she realized what I was doing. "You take care of it, _Ladybug,_" I spat, holding out my earrings.

"I... Marinette, no; you're Ladybug! I can't take care of - "

"Alya," I started, my voice dangerously thin, "if you don't take these I will throw them away. If you want Ladybug to _take care of it,_ you will do it yourself. I cannot, will not, and should not be expected to deal with any of this!" I was screaming now. Hot tears poured down my face. "Take it!"

The air between us was silent. The rest of the class had already evacuated, and the only thing to be heard was the screaming victims a building over. "Take it, Alya! I can't hold them any longer!"

Stunned and scared, Alya shakily accepted the earrings. Then, without looking back, she ran.

I collapsed, sobbing, only stopping when the school exploded and I fell asleep.

"Papa, there's a monster under my bed," I pleaded, stopping Papa from closing the door and leaving.

"Oh, Marinette, there's nothing to be afraid of," he comforted, turning the light back on as he walked into the room. "There's no monsters under your bed."

"But Papa, I heard it," I whimpered.

"Here," he relented, getting down onto his knees right beside my bed. Then, he lifted my blanket and peered underneath my bed.

"If any of you monsters dare hurt my Marinette while she's sleeping, you'll regret it," he threatened sternly. I giggled, and he smiled.

"Don't worry Marinette, the monster's won't get you," he smiled. "Goodnight, sweetie," he continued, then gave me a kiss on the forehead, stood up, and walked out of the room, turning off the lights and closing the door as he did so.

I heard a moan and a slither from beneath my bed, and I froze.

"Marinette, I can't protect you," it mocked. Still frozen, I could only watch as the black shadow emerged from under my bed. "I'll never be able to keep you safe."

It flipped the light switch, revealing none other than a rotting, worm-infested corpse of my father looming over me. It spoke.

"But I'll still love you, Marinette," it whispered, leaning down to give me a kiss with what little mouth it had left.

Baking was one of my favorite things to do with Papa, especially baking pies, which was what we were doing today.

I was currently making the filling while Papa was preparing the crust since he didn't want me handling anything too hot.

"Papa?" I asked, referring to the crust. "Is it ready yet?"

"Almost, Marinette," he replied, wanting to wait a little longer so the crust would cool.

"But Papa," I whined, "I'll be careful. Please?"

Tom sighed, thinking it over. After a moment of contemplation, he gave in. "Fine," he relented, and I happily brought the filling over. "Just be careful; it's hot."

I agreed and began scooping the peaches into the empty pie crust. Soon enough the pie was filled and the top had been weaved on. "Thanks, Marinette," Papa said, admiring my work. "I'll put this in the oven, and we can have it after dinner."

Papa picked up the pie with two oversized oven mitts and walked over to the oven. He paused.

"Marinette, could you open the oven for me?" he asked sheepishly, gesturing at his hands full with the pie.

"But Papa," I protested, "you said I should never open the oven; it's too hot."

"I know, but my hands are full and I'm sure that if you be careful you can manage it," Papa reasoned.

"Okay," I relented, and opened the oven for him.

It was over in an instant: first the pie got sucked in, then Papa himself. I hardly had time to scream as the oven door shut, then launched itself out at me, opening its door to swallow me as well.

"And... Done!" Papa cheered as he ended the match. We had just started an Ultimate Mecha Strike tournament, and he had just won the first fight.

"No fair!" I pouted, resolving to beat him this time. The match started, and immediately Papa pulled off a surprise attack. Luckily, I ducked fast enough and was able to get in a kick before we started all-out brawling. I could just barely react fast enough, but I was having trouble getting any attacks in. We got down to the last few seconds, and it would only take a couple of hits for either of us to get knocked out, so I had to play carefully. Finally, with one second left, I fired at him while he was in the air, hitting him dead center. "Yes!" I cheered, but then realized that the last match would determine who won. "You ready?" I taunted Papa, who only responded with a grunt, already focused on the last round.

I button mashed like I never had before, giving it my all. I tried every tactic I knew and even made up a few of my own. I was winning, but then Papa started charging up for his special move.

While charging, he couldn't do anything, which meant it was a perfect time to attack. However, my fingers wouldn't do it. I tried to get down to him, but my player wouldn't move. Then, it was too late.

Papa's player blinked white, then disappeared.

Confused, I looked over at him to ask what he just did, only to find Papa disappearing the same way as his player.

The screen flashed a bright "MARIBUG WINS!" but I knew I had lost.

=\\\^/=

"Nathaniel!"

I looked up. Alya was rushing out of the school, something clutched in her hand.

"Marinette's in trouble, and I can't - "

Her words were cut off as the building exploded.

I could only watch, horrified as Alya was crushed by the building.

Then, out of the dust, two small objects came flying straight at me. On reflex, I held up my notebook to protect me, which was a good thing, because the thunk of them embedding themselves in my notebook did not sound pleasant.

I carefully turned my notebook over, gasping when I saw what came shooting at me.

They were, without a doubt, Ladybug's earrings.

* * *

**Don't kill me it's just a little cliffhanger**


End file.
